Battles | Combat AoW III Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
During your play, in the Age of Wonders III, sooner or later you will have to fight. In most cases, the initial skirmishes with the Independent, groups are not too demanding, due to the size of the independent armies, but still, you can encounter some stronger groups. In spite of that, the you will be fighting the majority of your battles, with the other players. The appropriate behavior and well-suited tactics, in the battles, will help you win even the most hopeless battles, with time. On the other hand, ignoring the opponent may lead to losing a quite simple battle. Therefore, a lot depends on what units you lead into the battle but, even more importantly, how you do that.
Battles in the field
In most cases, battles start when you see an enemy and you simply decide that it would be a good idea to whoop his ass. In short, it could be said that these battles need to be fought in the medieval style - infantry fighting in the first line, ranged units provide support from the back and cavalry on the flanks. To top it all, place your leader somewhere at the back and fit the healing units here and there. This basic deployment of units, can well be used in the battle.
The battle is started by the player that was attacked. Remember that, as a defender, you do not have the possibility of escaping and, even in a battle that seems to be lost, from the very beginning, it is a good idea to try inflict as severe loses to the opponent as possible. First of all, it is a good idea to soften up the opponent, especially by eliminating those of the units that are weak and vulnerable to attacks, or have the lowest number of health points. For that, use spells that can deal damage to multiple units. After you approach the opponent, try to lay fire down on him and, in the case, when he himself is short of ranged units, do not attack with the rest of the army, yet, and try to deploy your units in a way in which they are able to counter and use attacks of opportunity. Remember that you cannot let yourself be flanked - keep your units about you but, at the same time, know that you are vulnerable to AoE attacks then. Therefore, it is worth knowing what kind of skills the enemy units have up their sleeve. There is an advantage in keeping your units close - once the enemy wants to attack a unit located at the side, or in the back, most probably, he will then have to pass by your units, which results in the performance of an occasional attack, by your units. While attacking, you should watch out for that too - crossing the field between two enemy units is not the best of choices.
To fight and win battles effectively, whether as the defender or as the attacker, you need o remember about several important rules. First of all, remember about using spells that can considerably improve on the statistics of your units, or deal damage to the opponent's. It would be especially good if you could kill the enemy leader, as soon as possible, however, spells themselves will probably be incapable of doing that. However, you can use the cavalry units here (as well as the other ones with high number of movement points), which you can well use to flank the other units and attack archers, behind the infantry lines (you can also try to get closer to the enemy leader). Cavalry is very good against the enemy ranged units, thanks to which a charge performed at the right moment is capable of destroying the unit. Also, remember to finish off the opponents - such an unit deal the same damage, regardless of the number of health points left (the number of soldiers in such a unit drops, but the unit retains its statistics). An ideal way to defeat the soldiers that are low on health is an AoE attack. The units that are good at close quarters should be moved to fight against units of the same type - do not allow a situation in which the units with low attack statistics fight in melee (e.g. archers, counterparts of priests). Also, you should watch out for counterattacks - do not attacks if you can lose your own unit, as a result of the counter. Even if the opponent attacks it in the following round, he will have to make a move, where he could focus his attack on another unit. Always try not to exert the valuable units, which have lots of experience points and leaders - they are the most difficult to replace.
To sum up, the key to victory are:
- appropriate make-up of the army, so that the types and the skills of various units are diversified and allow for dealing different types of damage,
- use ranged units to soften up the opponents, for as long as possible,
- reinforce the fighting units with spells, cast by the leader,
- try to predict the next steps that the opponent takes, pay attention to the range of his units and, at the same time, change the positions of your own units in a situation in which they are in danger and in face of the expected attack
- while relocating your units, watch out for attacks of opportunity and, when you attack, for counterattacks,
- fight on the type of terrain that is preferred by your units; sometimes, it is a good idea to lure the opponent to this kind of ground, thanks to which your units receive higher morale, where the ones that stay on the disfavored ground receive lower morale.
- don't bite off more than you can chew; it is a good idea to attack only if you are sure of your victory and, when you need to defend, fight until the last man standing.
Sieges
Sieges usually occur as a result of attack/defense of a city or a stronghold. The defending player usually has some advantage, especially when the city has a stone or a wooden wall. The attacker should remember that he should have siege engines in his army, which make it easier to force the gates down.
As the defender: Position your archers on the walls and the fighting units around the gates. The opponent will, most probably, want to force it down. As far as possible, try to destroy, in the first place, battering rams and trebuchets, to make this task as difficult for him as possible. Once you notice that the opponents has units that are going to attempt climbing your walls, send your infantry to the walls, to serve as reinforcements for the archers. In the case in which the gates are forced down, block it with the unit of the highest defense value and high number of health points, so that the units fighting against it, stay there as long as possible, which will allow the archers to deal damage. If you do not have ranged units in your army, you will have no advantage over the opponent, because he will be able to force the gates down without any problems. Try to destroy his ranged units then, to prevent him from shooting all of your units, during fights at the gates. If the opponent has clear advantage over you, and you have cavalry and the other units with high number of movement points, you can try walking past the walls and fighting in the open field.
As the attacker: Obtain siege engines, which are going to be very helpful - the faster you destroy the gates, the better. If you have the units that can climb walls, use them to attack archers. When it comes to the "regular" units, try to make it past the gates as fast as possible, to avoid staying at it for too long, at which point you will be exposed to attacks from archers. As far as possible, force down the 2 gates, to allow as many units past the walls, within a short period of time, as possible. Then, you will find the battle much easier, because your units will not be waiting, pensively, until there is more space at the gates, because the range of the archers is greater than your own. This is why it is so important to make it past the enemy gates, as quickly as possible. Exchanging fire at the gates always ends badly for the attacker - your units will deal far less damage, because of the distance and the wall in the way.
Naval battles
Apart from the battles on the mainland, you may also have to fight naval battles. The units that meet on the sea are represented by ships and it is the health points of those ships that they receive. Their individual statistics, e.g. the strength of the attack, defense or resistance remain unchanged. Apart from that, the units that o not require loading onto the ship have the same statistics (HP) as in a regular battle. Also, the skills of such units remain the same as in the regular battle.
The main difference, when compared to the regular battles, is the change in the amount of HP, which is increased by the amount of movement points of these units, and also additional attacks, depending on the boats that you have (they can be upgraded with research into naval movement). Thanks to this, the defender gains a certain advantage, connected with the fact that he is the first one to make his move, because, already in the first turn, it is highly probable that he will be capable of approaching the opponent, close enough to attack or even sink the enemy unit. It goes without saying that it is best to attack and destroy the best and the most expensive units, so that the opponent suffers the loss, even if you lose the battle. It is best to invest in the upgrades that allow you to manufacture ships, while playing on a map with lots of islands, where the possibility of a battle is higher than usually. Otherwise, you can try to get the opponent on a river, because this is, usually the faster way to cross, than crossing the land. If there are quite good units, on the opponents army, they may prove to be a morsel. The units that are located on the fields with water can serve as a support for the other units, which attack the opponent in the mainland. Then, the entire battle will take place on the mainland. The units stationed on the ground cannot reinforce the naval units, in battle, even if they are occupying the neighboring fields.